


How Love Works

by TheFifthCharmedOne



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, I'm not sorry though, M/M, The Strange Drowning of Natalie Wood: episode coda?, implied!smut, oh my god where do i start, shyan, so much pining, these morons, video-typical curse words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-07 23:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12242706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFifthCharmedOne/pseuds/TheFifthCharmedOne
Summary: “Do you not know how love works?” Ryan asked, his voice both awed and a little sad at the thought. “Maybe I don’t.” Shane replied, though his answer lacked its usual flippantness.  “That makes a lot of sense actually.” Ryan said, as if suddenly remembering they were on camera. – Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime “The Strange Drowning of Natalie Wood” What happens when the cameras are off?





	How Love Works

**Author's Note:**

> Look, I don’t usually ship real people together – except in the case of Bradley James and Colin Morgan, but that’s mainly because they’re so close to the characters they played. (Arthur Pendragon and Merlin in BBC’s Merlin) But thanks to Tumblr and the ever growing archive of #shyan fanfics, I’ve been hooked. So, this happened. Enjoy.

“Sara broke up with me.” Shane said flatly, and Ryan looked up at his friend. The taller man blew out a long breath and ran a hand through his messy brown hair. “Said I wasn’t committed enough.”

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked, instantly concerned. At the same time, he tried to squash the hope bubbling in his chest – he and Helen had amicably parted ways six months before, which took away the security blanket he’d been clinging too for what felt like forever. “We don’t have to film the Wood video today if you’re not up to it.”

“No, no it’s fine. It’ll take my mind off of her.”

Shane wandered toward the staff kitchen, where he retrieved a bottle of water and cracked it open. Ryan couldn’t stop himself from staring at Shane’s long neck as the other man gulped down the liquid. There was a definite slump in his shoulders, anyone that knew him well enough would be able to see something was wrong, but Ryan took pride in being the only person to be able to read that from Shane.

“Ryan?” He jumped at the hand that was being waved in front of his face.

“Sorry.” Ryan tried to force the blush back down his neck. Their cameraman, Rick, was giving him a quizzical look. “Are you and the skeptic ready to go?”

Ryan peered over Rick’s shoulder and saw Shane approaching.

“Ready to go?” Ryan asked, and Shane nodded. Ryan’s chest constricted – the sadness in Shane’s eyes broke his heart.

-X-X-X-

_“In the end, the tragic passing of Natalie Wood will continue to confound the world. The familiar faces involved only add to the mystery, and unfortunately, we may never know what happened to Natalie that night; as the case of Natalie Wood will remain…”_ Ryan paused for dramatic effect, as per the usual outro. _“…unsolved.”_

“And…cut.” Rick turned off the camera and Shane released a breath like he’d been holding it for a while.

“Don’t ask me if I’m okay,” Shane said before Ryan could even open his mouth. “I appreciate your concern, but it’s unnecessary.”

Rick took that as his cue to leave.

“Do you still love her?” Ryan asked instead.

“I don’t know if I ever did. I don’t know how love works, remember?” His teasing words thrown back at him in such a way felt like a slap in the face, and Ryan’s temper flared.

“Since when did you get so sensitive?” he demanded. Shane’s eyes narrowed.

“Why do you care?! You do everything you can to show how much you hate me on camera, but now you’re acting like we’re pals!”

“We are!” Ryan was slightly mortified at the way his voice squeaked. “…Aren’t we?”

Expressions of anger, disbelief, sadness, and then anger again flitted across Shane’s face in quick succession.

“I’m not doing this right now. I’m going home.” Shane stood and stomped off set, slamming the door behind him.

Ryan threw his head back and rubbed his eyes – he knew he should get started editing the episode so that it would get posted on time, but his heart ached for Shane.

“Fuck this.” he muttered to himself, and walked off the set, plan already forming in his mind.

-X-X-X-

Stubborn as ever, Ryan ignored the way his finger shook as he pressed the call button for Shane’s apartment. Jostling the large container of popcorn, he waited impatiently for Shane to respond.

“Who is it?” Shane’s voice crackled over the speaker after what felt like an eternity.

“It’s me, Ryan.” he answered. “Let me up?”

The door buzzed and unlocked, allowing Ryan entrance into the complex.

-X-X-X-

Faded gray sweatpants with ‘University of Chicago’ ironed on the right leg were the first thing Ryan saw once the door opened, followed quickly by a dark red t-shirt and an exhausted-looking best friend.

At least, he hoped that’s what they were.

“I brought popcorn.” Ryan held up the bucket, and Shane cracked a small smile. Progress.

“I was just about to watch _Jessica Jones_.” Shane said. “So popcorn is perfect.”

The two men settled into Shane’s futon, and Ryan looked around the apartment – he had been in here a handful of times before, but in those times, Sara’s stuff had been scattered amongst Shane’s things, and now that was all gone. The emptiness and complete silence reminded him of of their many Unsolved: Supernatural excursions, and he couldn’t repress a shiver. “Cold?” Shane asked. “I can turn up the heat. Sara always liked it colder…” he broke off, and Ryan took another handful of caramel popcorn.  

“Nah, I’m good.”

They watched Krysten Ritter kick ass and take names in what Ryan hoped was still a comfortable silence between them. He wasn’t sure how to broach the topic of their fight, but the idea that there was unsolved (ha, irony) tension between them killed him inside.

He twisted the fleece blanket that was currently wrapped around his legs. He’d put off editing the Unsolved episode for this – he’d ignored their collective baby – to make sure Shane was okay and that their friendship was intact.

“Hey, Ryan?” Shane asked. “I think I know how love works now.”

“I hope you didn’t learn it from Kilgrave.” Ryan joked weakly, his worries overtaking him.

He turned toward the other man and found that he was much closer than he had been a few minutes previous. Ryan swallowed hard – Shane had taken out his contacts before starting the show, and his eyes looked even bigger (and more beautiful) behind his glasses.

_Fuck, not right now._ He said to his body in general, hoping Shane was oblivious to the signs of attraction.

“Did you do any editing for the Natalie Wood episode?” Shane asked, and Ryan shook his head. “Didn’t think so. So you left work early, for you anyway, went and got multiple flavors of popcorn, and came to see me…why, again?”

Something in Shane’s voice – Ryan wasn’t sure if it was the low tone or the inquisitive way he spoke, but his heart was fruitlessly trying to break its way out of his chest.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Ryan said, a bead of sweat sliding down the back of his neck. Shane was inches away from him now.

“Uh huh. Ryan, are you in love with me?”

The events that followed were completely out of Ryan’s control and frankly, they were completely appropriate to being asked such a question by the object of your affections when you had no idea how they felt in return.

He flailed away from Shane, but with his legs so caught in the blanket he only made it to the floor, landing on his back and thanking every deity he could think of that Shane’s apartment had carpets. He felt the color leave his face as Shane stared at him from the sofa, head tilted and the tiniest smirk on his stupid face.

“I-uh…I…” Ryan stammered, his breathing uneven as Shane came over to him and straddled his hips, leaning down and taking a deep breath in, the tip of his nose barely touching his neck but still setting him on fire all the same. “Are you drunk?”

“Nope, stone cold sober.” Shane answered, boxing Ryan’s head against the floor, his palms splayed on either side of the shorter man’s ears. “To answer your question from earlier, I’d say, based on your reaction, you see me as much more than a friend.”

Ryan’s body seized up.

“Get off of me.” he ground out, embarrassment flooding him. “God, Shane. I know you can be a dick sometimes but I never thought you’d stoop this low.”

Shane raised an eyebrow, which only served to make Ryan angrier. “I said get off.”

“Ry, it’s not what you think.” Panic edged his tone, but Ryan ignored that in favor of his righteous fury.

“Oh no? You’re not pretending to have feelings for me only for it to all be a prank? Or some other stupid Shane-like thing? God, I hate you.”

“So that’s it.” Shane searched Ryan’s face. “You pretend to hate me so you can hide how you really feel.”

Alarm bells went off in Ryan’s head, and he knew he had to get out of this apartment, this city, hell, even the **_country_** , to escape the mortification he knew was coming.

“Just…leave it alone, Shane.” Ryan said, defeated and ashamed. He closed his eyes and turned away. Damn Shane and his damn weight training, making him stronger than Ryan.

“Nope.” Shane popped the p sound, and Ryan’s heart did a funny little jump. “I want to try something.”

“Wha-”

Shane rolled his hips against Ryan’s, and the moan that came from the man under him was the most beautiful sound that Shane had ever heard. He did it again, and now there was a slight whimper in the aroused sound.

That’s when he felt it.

Ryan was hard, and so was Shane.

Shane smiled, and Ryan’s heart melted.

“I love you too.”

-X-X-X-

“I have a question.” Ryan informed Shane the next morning, after a night of incredible lovemaking.

“Shoot.” Shane told him, taking a long pull from his coffee mug.

“When did Sara break up with you?”

“Five months ago.”

“And you didn’t tell me?! And you were pretending to be a kicked puppy yesterday?!” Ryan demanded, and Shane chuckled.

“It wasn’t that serious. Gave me a lot of time to think; and no, not really. It wasn't hard to repeat how I felt a few months ago.”

“You're an ass. What were you thinking about?”

“You. Me. My sexuality.”

Ryan took a sip of his own coffee and the steam fogged up his glasses in the most adorable way. 

“So…how long have you known? About…you know.”

“Your crush on me?” Ryan winced, and Shane put down his coffee mug, He embraced the shorter man, kissing the top of his head.

“Not that long. Like…a month and a half?”

“So…since New Orleans?”

“About there, yeah.”

“God, fuck you for not saying anything until now.”

“I’m open to a lot of things, but I quite enjoyed being the one to fuck you last night, baby.”

Ryan’s face turned bright red, and Shane laughed, amusement and fondness filling his features.

"Don't call me baby." 

So, yeah. Shane Madej knew how love worked – and he was in love with Ryan Bergara.

-X-X-X-

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it. I have a lot of ideas for these two, so don’t be surprised if I post more in the upcoming weeks!
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you all liked it!
> 
> -Charmy


End file.
